World

A time-motion study by United States Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory shows that retrofitting installations of roof-integrated PV takes 7% less labour time than standard solar installations. For new construction, the installation time drops by 44%.

Research carried out by China‘s National Photovoltaic Quality Inspection Center shows that new n-type TOPCon modules are living up to their promise, outperforming the previous generation of p-type PERC products. Data gathered over six months from a fixed-tilt PV system showed that the n-type products produced 3.69% more energy, and also suffered much lower performance losses.

The world’s most efficient energy network, at an Antarctic research base, has had a solar upgrade, reports Tristan Rayner.

The global transition to carbon-free energy has fallen behind pace to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, a key threshold set forth by the Paris Agreement.

George Hilton, research manager at S&P Global, spoke to pv magazine at the recent Intersolar 2023 trade show about the latest energy storage trends. He said the industry needs easy-to-install products and more efficient supply chains, and noted that battery prices are highly volatile because they fluctuate in response to changes in the dynamic Chinese electric vehicle market.

New research from Serbia claims air-polluted urban climatic conditions may not only induce maximum power point (MPP) tracking problems in PV systems but also reduce power yield by up to 30%. The scientists also said that soiling may significantly affect the functionality of single-stage inverters operating in grid-forming mode.

Decarbon Venture, a startup cofounded by an outback-living Australian entrepreneur, has launched what it claims to be the world’s first “swappable” solar generator at half the weight and double the power rating of other products on the market.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a quick look at the main price trends in the global PV industry.

Helena Li, president of Trina Solar’s global cell and module business, spoke to pv magazine at the recent SNEC trade show in Shanghai about the PV industry’s oversupply challenge. Li said the company is considering opening a factory in Europe and expressed optimism about future cost and price declines.

Scientists in Europe have put together a comprehensive guide to PV module degradation, examining literature and case studies on the topic as far back as the 1990s. Their paper details the primary stress factors faced by modules in the field, the most common modes of degradation and failure, and provides clear definitions relevant to reliability, quality and testing standards. Among their key findings is that a full understanding of how combinations of different stresses over varying timeframes is still missing from methods to estimate and improve system reliability.